Everywhere
by Kaslyna
Summary: Connie is always lingering in Mike's subconcious. He never would have dreamed just how present he was in her thoughts, too.


**A/N: Mike/Connie songfic, using lyrics from Michelle Branch's Everywhere, my favorite song right now.**

**Disclaimer: Law & Order belongs to Dick Wolf and NBC. Everywhere belongs to Michelle Branch and Maverick Records. Please don't sue me; I already have a detention! Plot is mine, however.**

_Turn it inside out so I can see  
The part of you that's drifting over me  
And when I wake you're never there  
But when I sleep you're everywhere  
You're everywhere  
_

Connie was having a hard time sleeping again. As soon as she shut her eyes, his face came up and her breathing became shallow. Her heart swelled at the image of him and sent a burning ache across her elongated figure. With her shaky, wispy fingers, she draws the sheets above her head and tries desperately to sleep again, but he is all she sees, and the pain in her soul is too much.

Connie finally drifts off into a fitful sleep.

_  
Just tell me how I got this far  
Just tell me why you're here and who you are  
'Cause every time I look  
you're never there  
And every time I sleep  
you're always there  
_

Mike wondered yet again what she was doing. He thought of the young doctor at the hospital last week, what was his name? He believes it is Arthur Wright, but he is not entirely sure. He wonders if she is with him; she seemed very friendly towards him. The idea of them together brings bile up his throat, and he stops that train of thought. Maybe she couldn't sleep as well. Maybe she was thinking of him, too, but he knew better than to hope for that.

He is awakened at two-fifty-seven in the morning by the shrill, insistent ringing of his phone. Grumbling, he swings his legs over the side of the bed and answers it.

"What?" he growls.

"Hey," her voice is cautious and shy, "How are you?"

_  
'Cause you're everywhere to me  
And when I close my eyes it's you I see  
You're everything I know  
that makes me believe  
I'm not alone _

She does not quite know why she is calling him at three in the morning. He is groggy and obviously pissed off when he finally picks up, but she takes a deep breath and tries to calm herself.

"Hey," she breathes, "How are you?"

There is a long pause and he finally answers, "Okay, I suppose."

"Sorry I woke you," she whispers hurriedly, "I, uh, I couldn't sleep and I guess I just… I guess I really just needed to hear your voice."

"Oh," he sighs, "Well, it's good to hear your voice, Connie. I, uh, I actually just fell asleep."

"Really?" she asks, bemused.

"Yeah," he says, and she pictures him nodding, one of his odd quirks, "I usually go to sleep early, but I, uh, I had some work to do."

"Liar," she mutters, chuckling darkly.

"Huh?"

"I know you, Mike," she sighs wistfully, "I know you."

"Oh," he says, "Yeah, okay. I just couldn't sleep."

"Me neither. You want to meet up?"

"Sure," he breathes, "That would be great, uh, where?"

"My building, front stoop," she tells him, "I'll be there."

"Okay," he replies nervously, "I'll be there, too, in about twenty minutes or so."

The line goes dead and Connie smiles cheerfully before getting out of bed and pulling on a pair of jeans and a grey pullover. Then she makes coffee, and with shaky hands she pours the black liquid into two thermoses, grabs her keys, and bolts out the door.

_  
I'm not alone  
I recognize the way you make me feel  
It's hard to think that  
you might not be real  
I sense it now, the water's getting deep  
I try to wash the pain away from me  
Away from me  
_

He is twelve minutes later than expected, and she reminds him of this, laughing when he apologizes, obviously flustered. What was it about her that left him breathless and bumbling? He wasn't quite sure; he had never felt this way about anyone before, not even Carly, whom he had dated for about five weeks. He sits beside her and his hand brushes against hers as she hands him a thermos of coffee.

"Thanks," he mumbles, sipping the drink.

"No problem," she sighs, "We're going to be exhausted later."

"I know," he smiles sweetly, "But, I, uh, I don't exactly mind."

She nods thoughtfully, her jittery hands shaking with cold. He notices this and takes them in his slightly larger ones, rubbing a little bit. She raises an eyebrow and he stares straight into her molten cocoa eyes, silently asking her if she is okay with this. When she does not remove her hands, he continues to warm them quietly. The silence is amiable and it does not bother either of them.

_  
'Cause you're everywhere to me  
And when I close my eyes it's you I see  
You're everything I know  
that makes me believe  
I'm not alone  
I'm not alone  
I am not alone  
Whoa, oh, oooh, oh  
_

After perhaps half an hour of sitting, Connie boldly invites him up to her apartment, ignoring the voices screaming in her head. She knows where this may lead and she does not care for once. For once, Connie is in complete control and she knows what she wants. His stormy blue-grey eyes glisten when she asks him, and her heart is set aflutter. She never lets go of his hand as she leads him inside. The elevator ride upwards is buzzing with energy and she is sure he can feel it, too. When they finally are on her couch, his arm slung haphazardly about her shoulders, talking, she feels her heart swell and ache pleasantly, in a way she has not known before.

Suddenly, the atmosphere shifts. Both of them have stopped talking, and he brushes a stray lock of chocolate brown curls off her face. He cups her sharp cheekbones sweetly, and looks into her eyes for reassurance. Mike watches as her eyes close slowly, and he brings her lips up to his, tasting her, testing her.

Her hand grasps his wrist, and her teeth graze his lower lip teasingly. When his tongue probes her lips, she grants him full access. Their tongues twist, turn, rise, and fall together in a synchronized dance of passion and ecstasy and something else.

When he is stumbling with her into the bedroom, she finally tastes on his tongue the sweetest decadence of them all.

Connie tastes love on his tongue.

_  
And when I touch your hand  
It's then I understand  
The beauty that's within  
It's now that we begin  
You always light my way  
I hope there never comes a day  
No matter where I go  
I always feel you so  
_

He pulls her sweatshirt off ungracefully, watching as it cascades in a downward spiral. He unsnaps the button on her jeans and she slides out of them, smiling like a nymph as she falls back onto the bed. He rips off his shirt and his pants, hovering, terrified of breaking her as he unhooks her bra with his thumb. As his tongue finds her once more, he slides the unnecessary lace off her shoulders, flinging it off the side of the bed. Mike tugs at her panties, and somewhere along the way, she tears off his boxers in a savage need. She fumbles for something on her nightstand, and with her teeth, she opens the condom. Connie strokes him shyly and rolls it onto his length. He enters her easily, and she whimpers.

"Am I hurting you?" he asks.

"No," she pants, "God, no."

He smiles, forehead against hers, their noses rubbing.

"Good," he murmurs, lips finding hers hungrily once more.

_  
'Cause you're everywhere to me  
And when I close my eyes it's you I see  
You're everything I know  
that makes me believe  
I'm not alone  
'Cause you're everywhere to me  
And when I catch my breath  
it's you I breathe  
You're everything I know  
that makes me believe  
I'm not alone  
_

When he is done, he rolls off her and discards the condom. Then he pulls her gently into his arms, lips buried in her hair, whispering sweet words neither would remember. She snuggles into him closely, arms wrapped about his waist, and yawns. He watches as Connie sleeps, occasionally mumbling his name.

He knows he loves her. He does not know if she feels the same way, but that can wait until later. Later, when she wakes up; he will understand if she is mad or upset about this, and he does not want to think about it until he has to deal with it.

Internal battle over, he smiles and softly caresses her cheek, planting a kiss on her forehead. After a few moments, he joins her in sweet slumber. As long as she is in his arms, he will be forever euphoric. Mike knew she would not be mad.

After all, under the layers of lust, need, and passion on her tongue, he had tasted something else, a sweet, delicate nectar.

Mike had tasted love on her tongue.

_  
You're in everyone I see  
So tell me  
Do you see me?_


End file.
